"Disappointed"

Field Music have never compromised, though their existence is less about letting their freak flag fly than a refusal to submit to the conventions of music industry excess. They maintain careful, hands-on management of their own affairs: Rather than move to London, the Brewis brothers have always lived in their native North-East. They record their own albums, drive their own tour van, and don't take advances from their label. It's admirable, if not particularly sexy. Similarly, "Disappointed," from their fifth album, C**ommontime, tackles the need for managed expectations in relationships by digging into the anxious, frustrating nitty gritty of those conversations: "Should it be clear to me?/ Should I understand it?/ Have I been asking too much?/ Or not enough?" David Brewis sings with a hint of desperation.

So far, so domestic—but "Disappointed" has a saucy playfulness that feels new for the duo. It melts in on an extended jazz lick that recalls Steely Dan circa Aja, but swiftly sharpens into pastoral punk-funk, steered by a stuttering bass that could only have been played at shoulder height. Field Music have said that Billboard #1s were an influence on the record; "Disappointed"'s punchy, skittering rhythm and light synth sparkle bring to mind Fine Young Cannibals' "She Drives Me Crazy" (a 1989 #1), and even Lionel Richie's "All Night Long (All Night)" (#1 in 1983). The backing vocals, too, are a treat: Peter shouts right upfront alongside David, and ends the song with a comic flourish that I won't spoil. It might be the first time they've sounded like proper pop stars—the kind who turn limitations into seductive magic.